Monthly Archives: December 2012

Top of the Solstice Season to y’all, ye old pHant-pHaithful most especial.

I usually say that, or Merry Mithramas, instead of Merry Christmas mostly because I know Christmas wasn’t established as the date for Christ’s nativity until sometime after Constantine I legitimized Christianity in the Fourth Century A.D.

Now the Pope agrees with me.

Don’t say “Huh?!?”. Read this instead:

‘The idea that Christ was born on Dec 25 also has no basis in historical fact. “We don’t even know which season he was born in. The whole idea of celebrating his birth during the darkest part of the year is probably linked to pagan traditions and the winter solstice.”‘

The pagan tradition referred to is Saturnalia. The god honoured was Mithras, whom the Roman Soldiery worshipped for centuries. They sometimes referred to him as Sol Invictus and of course Saturn was Kronos was Mithras.

Amazon websites worldwide now carry e-versions of “Goddess Gambit”. That means you can download Gambit for Kindle Fire, I-Pads, I-Phone and earlier versions of Kindle for the first time. One ordering link is here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AT4XPEU

I expect e-versions of Gambit in other formats will become available early in New Year. Watch this space for announcements.

Scary stuff, I grant you. However, does this or does this not remind you of the ending to “The Weirdness of Cabalarkon”? Does me, hence why it qualifies as a Serendipitous Sighting. (For many more, click here.)

BTW, Weird’s ending is not revealed in its synopses (http://www.phantacea.info/synop5.htm#limbo1) but I might as well remind (or tell) you that it involves efforts made by 5980’s Master of Weir to replicate, um, something using the Weirdom’s 6000 year old reconstruction of Old Weir’s Mother Machine.

Mayan Warrior, with Spear,

I’ve used this shot to represent Blind Sundown for years. The artist is Fernando Castro Pacheco (January 26, 1918 – ). The artwork is in the Governor’s Palace in Merida, Mexico. The hall where I shot it is open to the public. It should be a must-see for anyone who visits Merida. (Uxmal is kind of neat as well.)

I’ve what’s beginning to look like three potential novels or moderately lengthy mini-novels on file. They were intended to conclude the Launch 1980 story cycle but, given how much they overlap, it’ll take some time to get them right — as in complete unto themselves. Or, and this is my current thinking, I could release them as originally written — as simultaneous web-serials eventually coming all together as one, really long unit.

Phantacea Publications business card, copy and pass on, por favor

Which would be better? And should I try my hand a crowd-funding to see which alternative attracts more interest? Anybody out there in pHantaBlogland tried it? Got any advice, comments, suggestions?

Sorry to say “The Damnation Brigade” graphic novel has been delayed yet again. The good news is the cover’s done, with adjustments, whereas the innards are thoroughly cleaned and ready for prime time. Unfortunately, deciding how best to print it remains conundrum-inducing,

Would prefer to release it in typical size for graphic novels, roughly 10 1/4 by 6 1/2, but cost estimates coming in at over $5.00 per book. And that doesn’t allow me to keep retail price under $12.00 a book, not if I’m to make anything myself it doesn’t.

Alternative of going the 6×9 trade paperback route (like the regular, all-prose novels and mini-novels) would lower per book price considerably but it just wouldn’t look right. Any thoughts?